Nokia's first clamshell smartphone starts shipping

[Aaron]

Nokia has announced that it has started shipping the 6260 - its first clamshell smartphone!

"The Nokia 6260 smartphone, with a rich feature set tailored towards mobile professionals, has started shipping in select markets. The tri-band (EGSM 900, GSM 1800/1900) Nokia 6260 smartphone is based on the Series 60 Platform and Symbian OS, offering push to talk functionality, email, a document and presentation viewer, a VPN client, Bluetooth connectivity and a VGA camera in an innovative fold design. The suggested retail price excluding taxes will be around ¤400.

The Nokia 6260 smartphone has a presentation and document viewer that allows users to view compatible email attachments directly on their phone. It also features swappable multimedia memory cards onto which email attachments, images, video clips and texts can be saved. Protected access to corporate data is easy using the integrated VPN client. Additionally, data synchronization enables local or remote updates of calendar, contacts and to-do lists.

With push to talk functionality, the Nokia 6260 consumers can have quick discussions with colleagues at the touch of a single button. Think of it like a "walkie-talkie" over the GPRS network and use it to stay in touch with a whole group or one person.

With its display on a 270-degree hinge, the Nokia 6260 smartphone is operational in 4 different modes, each adapted for a different use. Open it to talk, fold it with the display to face out to browse the web or access applications, twist the display to activate the camera, or close it flat to slip into your briefcase. The Nokia 6260 smartphone also works with the Nokia Wireless Keyboard, which makes personal organization and data entry quick and convenient via Bluetooth wireless technology. Like the Nokia 6260 smartphone, the Nokia Wireless Keyboard features a folding design for quick use and storage. "

I've had a play with it and its an impressive phone. Its as fully featured as the 7610 (minus the megapixel camera) but in a slim clamshell design. The rotating screen really works well and means that the lack of an external screen really isn't much of a problem. Thanks to the clamshell design, it also offers very big keys - very useful if you've got fat fingers like mean!

This is an exciting prospect as it will be the first Symbain clamshell available in Europe (NTT DoCoMo/Fujistu has been shipping Symbian clamshells in Japan for quite a while). Hopefully we'll see it in the UK very, very soon.

[iMc]

I really like the look of this. Although I'm only a few months into my contract with my 6230 and it's serving me well so far. Nokia seem to be getting some better phones out now. imo they went through a period where everything was the same old sort of things.

[Atomic]

Gimme the Motorola RAZR V3 anyday.

[Twigman]

Its still a Nokia though...
I cant wait until more technology like PPT and EDGE (if ever)....is implemented over here. Talking of technology that 802.16 network stuff looks very cool. But no doubt someone/thing/company will screw it up before it gets here and becomes public access.

[Aaron]

The Nokia 6260 supports EDGE (10) but I doubt we'll ever see it properly over here. What's the point when the 3G roll-out has already started?

One thing I love about the 6260 is that there's no external aerial. I've never bought another another clamshell phone since the aerial snapped off the old Motorola I used to have.